Living in Mt. Lebanon vs. Dormont (Pittsburgh: to rent, mortgage, selling a house)

[slamont61]

Eh, Lebo is no different than any other district where fassion trends are related. Kids are kids. I was one of those Students at one time, and yes there are a "few" that are well off but the bulk of the population there is strictly Middle Class. It's a myth that most of the people are rich. I wouldn't consider this being a reason to avoid Mt Lebanon. Infact it's why it is the correct choice. High quality education exists there, it is very real. The school is the primary reason you should choose Mt Lebanon over many other districts. The location, Washington Road or "Up Town" as it's called there is just a bonus.

It's a quick trip into down town if needed and the Light Rail is perfect for Public Transportation needs. Location and quality of life both, and it's not un-affordable.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by slamont61

Eh, Lebo is no different than any other district where fassion trends are related. Kids are kids. I was one of those Students at one time, and yes there are a "few" that are well off but the bulk of the population there is strictly Middle Class. It's a myth that most of the people are rich. I wouldn't consider this being a reason to avoid Mt Lebanon. Infact it's why it is the correct choice. High quality education exists there, it is very real. The school is the primary reason you should choose Mt Lebanon over many other districts. The location, Washington Road or "Up Town" as it's called there is just a bonus.

It's a quick trip into down town if needed and the Light Rail is perfect for Public Transportation needs. Location and quality of life both, and it's not un-affordable.

I don't know why you are encouraging someone to move into an area where the rent is going to leave her with very little extra money. She says she can save 9k a year renting outside of Mt. Lebo. She says that she can afford the Mt Lebo rent, but there would be little money left for anything else. There are other areas for the OP to consider besides Mt. Lebo and Dormont.

[robrobrob]

The original poster said she wanted to live in an area with good schools and is walkable with an urban feel to it. Frankly, Mt. Lebanon is the only area with an urban feel to it that has good schools and granted it is even that urban.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

The original poster said she wanted to live in an area with good schools and is walkable with an urban feel to it. Frankly, Mt. Lebanon is the only area with an urban feel to it that has good schools and granted it is even that urban.

Read what else she posted:

Originally Posted by RoughCollie

We can afford the rent. We could save $9,600 a year by renting the house in Dormont, less the difference in the cost of utilities (the Dormont house is 1.5x larger than the other one). We cannot afford to send our kids to private schools, though.

Basically, we can afford to live in Mt. Lebanon, but probably won't have a lot of money left over to buy many things that are unnecessary.

There are other good school districts besides Mt. Lebanon. She currently lives in a bedroom community to Boston. Those areas are very isolated. Most townships in Pittsburgh have some attractions within walking distance. There are housing plans in Bethel Park that are within walking distance to South Park. She might also find places to rent near North Park and Hartwood Acres. Furthermore, driving somewhere interesting doesn't take very long compared to where she lives now.

If she's wanting to walk to restaurants and stores, then she could consider Squirrel Hill or Point Breeze. Even though it's a city school, Taylor Alderdice is a very good high school that is very diverse and includes many upper class students. Or maybe she would want to consider Aspinwall which is very walkable and part of the Fox Chapel School district. If she expands her search, she really could save money on rent AND have all the things she wants.

[otters21]

Both are nice areas. Dormant is very urban while Mt. Lebo tends to more suburban and car oriented. It comes down to preferences regarding the two communities.

[RoughCollie]

Thank you all for your courteous replies to my posts.

I do not *have* to live in Mt. Lebanon or Dormont. I just cannot find any suitable places to live in more urban areas, using the internet. "Urban" to me means being able to walk to shops, a bookstore, and to the library.

My preference is to live in a rural area and have chickens, maybe a small cow, and a huge garden. My family is not on board with that idea at all (mainly because it would be too isolated, too much work, and none of us have ever been around a live chicken or not shrink-wrapped farm animal or part thereof).

So my second choice is to find a place where my teens will not be bored to death, a place in which life does not revolve around school and high school sports only.

We are looking for a 4-5 (hopefully, 5) bedroom house that has 2 full bathrooms. We have a large dog. These factors have greatly reduced the number of houses available for us to rent. Often the houses are too small. The living rooms won't hold comfortable seating for six people, or the bedrooms are too small for two teenage boys to share one of them, or the kitchen is too tiny for me to work in and won't hold my kitchen stuff and food. Many houses only have 1 or 1.5 bathrooms.

Where I live, there are no shops anyone would want to walk to, it is all suburban sprawl, and our Zillow walkability score is 14 (out of 100). To someone who lives in Boston, we are out in the country. To someone who lives here, the country is located in western Mass.

As far as kids' clothing goes, the teens here wear clothes from Hollister, American Eagle Outfitters and Aeropostale, Ugg boots in winter, and so forth. They would not be caught dead wearing clothes from my favorite stores: LL Bean and Lands End.

Which stores are popular with teens in Pittsburgh?

To address the budget question: We will not be destitute if we rent a house in Mount Lebanon. We will have to be frugal as we are self-employed and do not have a consistent income such as that provided by a regular paycheck. We have to support ourselves and rent a large amount of space for our bookstore (internet-based) and office space in which to practice our profession. Plus, we will have just spent thousands of dollars to move to Pittsburgh.

As it turns out, we decided this afternoon to go to Pittsburgh next week and spend 4 full days looking at houses and office space. I can hardly wait!

Thank you again for responding to my post.

RC

[RoughCollie]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

My sister lived in Brookline and really liked it. However, she ended up moving because it was too expensive.

I looked at places in Coolidge Corner, Brookline, today and found the perfect apartment for us: only $4,600/month rent! It is the size of our house: 2800 s.f. -- huge for a place there, medium for a house where I live.

RC

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by RoughCollie

I looked at places in Coolidge Corner, Brookline, today and found the perfect apartment for us: only $4,600/month rent! It is the size of our house: 2800 s.f. -- huge for a place there, medium for a house where I live.

RC

Don't sign that lease, that is WAY too high. Seriously.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by COPANUT

Don't sign that lease, that is WAY too high. Seriously.

I agree! She's coming from a high cost of living area. She has no idea what rent goes for here.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by RoughCollie

I do not *have* to live in Mt. Lebanon or Dormont. I just cannot find any suitable places to live in more urban areas, using the internet. "Urban" to me means being able to walk to shops, a bookstore, and to the library............Where I live, there are no shops anyone would want to walk to, it is all suburban sprawl, and our Zillow walkability score is 14 (out of 100). To someone who lives in Boston, we are out in the country.

Wait until you get here to see what it's like. There are many townships and neighborhoods within Pittsburgh and in many surrounding suburbs that have more than you have in Mass. People are pointing you to Mt. Lebanon because it's the most walkable suburb with shopping---and people who come here from very walkable areas, like California, wouldn't be happy anywhere else. You, on the other hand, could be very happy somewhere else in Pittsburgh.

Originally Posted by RoughCollie

As far as kids' clothing goes, the teens here wear clothes from Hollister, American Eagle Outfitters and Aeropostale, Ugg boots in winter, and so forth.

Which stores are popular with teens in Pittsburgh?

They wear the same here. Add Pacsun and Abercrombie to the list.

Originally Posted by RoughCollie

To address the budget question: We will not be destitute if we rent a house in Mount Lebanon. We will have to be frugal as we are self-employed and do not have a consistent income such as that provided by a regular paycheck. We have to support ourselves and rent a large amount of space for our bookstore (internet-based) and office space in which to practice our profession. Plus, we will have just spent thousands of dollars to move to Pittsburgh.

You really should take advantage of our low cost of living. When people move here from more expensive areas, they see a house and think it's a deal because it's cheaper than where they lived. After living here, they realize they paid way too much money for it.

Originally Posted by RoughCollie

As it turns out, we decided this afternoon to go to Pittsburgh next week and spend 4 full days looking at houses and office space. I can hardly wait!

How are you looking for your rental housing? Are you using a real estate agent? Is it the same real estate agent that is going to show you commercial space?